What are eating disorders:

Eating disorders are serious and potentially life-threatening mental health conditions characterized by persistent disturbances in eating behaviours, thoughts, and emotions related to food, body weight, and body shape. There are several types of eating disorders, each with its own set of symptoms, behaviours, and health consequences. The most common types of eating disorders include:

• Anorexia Nervosa:
  • Symptoms: Intense fear of gaining weight, distorted body image, refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight, and extreme dietary restriction.
  • Behaviours: Severely restricting food intake, excessive exercise, and engaging in rituals around food and eating.
  • Health Consequences: Severe weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, heart problems, and other serious medical complications.
• Bulimia Nervosa:
  • Symptoms: Recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviours to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives or diuretics, fasting, or excessive exercise.
  • Behaviours: Binge eating (eating large amounts of food in a short period while feeling a loss of control), purging behaviours (vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics), and strict dieting or fasting.
  • Health Consequences: Electrolyte imbalances, dehydration, gastrointestinal problems, dental issues, and other medical complications.
• Binge Eating Disorder (BED):
  • Symptoms: Recurrent episodes of binge eating without the use of compensatory behaviours seen in bulimia.
  • Behaviours: Consuming large amounts of food in a short period while feeling a loss of control.
  • Health Consequences: Obesity, weight-related health problems (such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure), and psychological distress.
• Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED):
  • Symptoms: Individuals with OSFED may exhibit symptoms of anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorder but do not meet the full diagnostic criteria for these disorders.
  • Behaviours: Varied eating behaviours, such as restrictive eating, purging without binge eating, or occasional binge eating.
  • Health Consequences: Similar to those of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder, depending on the specific behaviours and symptoms present.
• Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID):
  • Symptoms: A lack of interest in eating or food, avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food, concern about the consequences of eating (such as choking or vomiting), or a limited range of preferred foods.
  • Behaviours: Restricting the amount or types of food consumed, avoiding certain foods or groups, and experiencing significant weight loss or nutritional deficiencies.
  • Health Consequences: Nutritional deficiencies, weight loss, impaired growth (in children and adolescents), and other medical complications.

It’s important to note that eating disorders are complex conditions that can have a profound impact on an individual’s physical health, emotional well-being, and quality of life. They often coexist with other mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Early intervention and comprehensive treatment, which may include psychotherapy, nutritional counselling, medical monitoring, and medication, are crucial for recovery from an eating disorder.

What to expect in a session with me:

Specialised Treatment: Therapists who specialize in eating disorders have the expertise and training to provide effective treatment. They can tailor therapy to address the specific challenges and underlying causes of the individual’s eating disorder.

Address Underlying Issues: Eating disorders often coexist with other mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, trauma, or low self-esteem. A therapist can help identify and address these underlying issues, which may contribute to the eating disorder.

Develop Healthy Coping Strategies: People with eating disorders often use disordered eating behaviours as a way to cope with difficult emotions, stress, or life events. A therapist can teach healthier coping strategies and alternative ways to manage emotions without resorting to harmful behaviours.

Improve Body Image and Self-Esteem: Eating disorders are often associated with distorted body image and low self-esteem. Through therapy, individuals can work on developing a more positive and realistic view of their body and improving their self-esteem.

Support and Encouragement: Recovery from an eating disorder can be challenging and often involves setbacks. A therapist provides ongoing support, encouragement, and motivation throughout the recovery process.

Prevent Medical Complications: Eating disorders can lead to serious medical complications, including heart problems, kidney failure, and osteoporosis. Early intervention and treatment can help prevent or minimize these health risks.

Family and Relationship Support: Eating disorders can impact not only the individual but also their family and relationships. Family therapy or couples therapy can be beneficial in addressing the impact of the eating disorder on relationships and improving communication and support within the family or relationship.

Safe Environment to Express Feelings: Therapy provides a safe and non-judgmental environment for individuals to express their feelings, fears, and concerns related to their eating disorder without fear of criticism or misunderstanding.

Learn Nutritional Education: Some therapists work closely with registered dietitians to provide nutritional education and guidance, helping individuals establish a balanced and healthy relationship with food.

Long-Term Recovery: Eating disorders are complex and often require long-term treatment and support. A therapist can help individuals develop a sustainable recovery plan and provide ongoing support to maintain recovery and prevent relapse.

What are the modalities that I use for eating disorders:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a type of cognitive-behavioural therapy that focuses on helping individuals develop psychological flexibility. From an ACT therapy perspective, a client can expect to find the following:

Acceptance: Clients learn to accept their thoughts, feelings, and sensations rather than trying to suppress or avoid them. Acceptance does not mean approval or resignation; instead, it involves acknowledging and embracing one’s experiences without judgment.

Cognitive Defusion: Clients learn techniques to “de-fuse” or distance themselves from their thoughts and beliefs. This helps them see thoughts as just thoughts, rather than as absolute truths or directives for action.

Being Present: Mindfulness and present-moment awareness are central to ACT. Clients learn to be fully engaged in the present moment, rather than being preoccupied with past regrets or future worries.

Self-as-Context: Clients are introduced to “self-as-context,” which involves recognizing that they are more than their thoughts, feelings, or experiences. This expanded sense of self can help clients detach from their struggles and view them from a broader perspective.

Values Clarification: Clients work on identifying their core values – what truly matters to them in life. This helps guide their actions and decisions, providing a sense of purpose and direction.

Committed Action: Based on their clarified values, clients are encouraged to take committed action towards living a meaningful and fulfilling life. This involves setting goals and taking steps, however small, towards achieving them.

Psychological Flexibility: The ultimate goal of ACT is to increase psychological flexibility, which is the ability to adapt and respond effectively to changing situational demands. This involves being open, aware, and able to persist or change behaviour in the pursuit of valued goals, even in the presence of difficult thoughts or feelings.

Contextual Understanding: ACT emphasizes the importance of understanding behaviour in context, recognizing that thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are influenced by various internal and external factors.

Therapeutic Relationship: In ACT, the therapeutic relationship is collaborative and supportive. The therapist works alongside the client, providing guidance, feedback, and encouragement as they navigate their journey towards psychological flexibility and values-driven action.

Holistic Approach: ACT takes a holistic approach to well-being, addressing not only symptoms or specific problems but also promoting overall psychological health, resilience, and quality of life.

Some common myths about eating disorders include:

There are several myths and misconceptions about eating disorders that can perpetuate stigma, misunderstanding, and barriers to early intervention and treatment.

Eating disorders only affect teenage girls: While eating disorders often begin during adolescence and are more commonly diagnosed in females, they can affect individuals of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

Eating disorders are a choice or a lifestyle: Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions characterized by complex interactions of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. They are not a choice, phase, or lifestyle, but rather serious illnesses that require medical and psychological treatment.

You can tell if someone has an eating disorder just by looking at them: Eating disorders are not always visible based on appearance alone. Individuals with eating disorders may be underweight, normal weight, or overweight, and their physical appearance may not reflect the severity of their illness.

Eating disorders are primarily about food and weight: While food and weight are central themes in eating disorders, these conditions also involve psychological, emotional, and social factors, including body image dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, perfectionism, anxiety, depression, trauma, and interpersonal difficulties.

People with eating disorders can simply “snap out of it” or stop their behaviours if they want to: Eating disorders are complex and often chronic illnesses that require comprehensive treatment, including medical, nutritional, and psychological interventions. Recovery is a long-term process that may involve periods of relapse and remission.

Only extremely thin individuals have anorexia nervosa: While extreme weight loss is a hallmark symptom of anorexia nervosa, individuals with this eating disorder may also be of normal weight or even overweight. Similarly, individuals with bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder may also be of normal weight or overweight.

Eating disorders are not serious or life-threatening: Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. They can lead to severe medical complications, including heart problems, kidney failure, gastrointestinal issues, nutritional deficiencies, and suicide.

Eating disorders are a result of vanity or seeking attention: Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions with biological, psychological, and environmental risk factors. They are not a result of vanity, attention-seeking, or personal weakness.

Eating disorders only affect people who are “weak” or lack willpower: Eating disorders are not a sign of weakness or lack of willpower. They are complex illnesses influenced by a combination of genetic, biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors.

Recovery from an eating disorder is quick and straightforward: Recovery from an eating disorder is a long-term process that requires ongoing treatment, support, and commitment. It often involves periods of progress, setbacks, and relapses, and each individual’s journey to recovery is unique.

“It’s important to challenge these myths and promote accurate understanding and awareness of eating disorders to reduce stigma, encourage early intervention, and support individuals in accessing appropriate treatment and support”

A feminist point of view emphasizes equality, social justice, and the empowerment of women and other marginalized groups, challenging patriarchal structures, gender norms, and systemic forms of oppression. It recognizes the interconnectedness of individual experiences with broader social, political, and cultural systems, aiming to address both personal and systemic issues to promote positive change and social transformation. In parallel, from an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) perspective, clients can expect a compassionate, experiential, and values-driven approach that emphasizes acceptance, mindfulness, and committed action to help individuals live a more meaningful and fulfilling life, even in the presence of challenges or difficulties.

Overall, seeking help from a therapist is essential for anyone struggling with an eating disorder. By embracing both the feminist perspective and ACT therapy, individuals can receive holistic support, guidance, and treatment to overcome their disorder, improve their overall well-being, and address both personal struggles and broader societal issues.